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Richard Gatling Facts & Worksheets

Richard Gatling was an American inventor and entrepreneur. The outbreak of the Civil War spurred Gatling to produce the greatest invention of his career, the Gatling gun.

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Richard Jordan Gatling was an American inventor and entrepreneur. The outbreak of the Civil War spurred Gatling to produce the greatest invention of his career, the Gatling gun. It revolutionized war.

See the fact file below for more information on the Richard Gatling or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Richard Gatling worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

  • Richard Gatling was born in Hertford County, North Carolina, on September 12, 1818.
  • His father was Jordan Gatling; his mother was Mary Barnes Gatling. Richard Jordan Gatling had three brothers, Thomas, James Henry, and William and two sisters, Mary Ann and Martha.
  • His father was a commercial farmer who primarily raised cotton.
  • Although he never practiced, Gatling studied medicine, graduated from Ohio Medical College, and became a doctor in 1850.
  • The first experience of Gatling with machinery came from his father’s business where he made machines for sowing cotton and thinning cotton plants.

GATLING’S BRILLIANT CAREER

  • He patented his machine for sowing cotton seeds and for thinning cotton plants in 1839.
  • He moved to St. Louis in 1844, worked in a dry goods shop, created a wheat drill, and produced seed planting machines.
  • He promoted railroad companies and real estate in Indianapolis for a time.
  • Then he set up farm-machinery factories in three midwestern cities. His inventions include a double-acting hemp break (1850), a steam plow (1857), a marine steam ram (1862), and a gunmetal alloy.
  • When the Civil War started in 1861, Gatling concentrated his efforts on armaments.
  • He invented the Gatling gun in 1862.
  • The Gatling gun was considered the first practical machine gun. It was able to shoot 250 shots per minute. The weapon consisted of breech-loading rifle barrels that rotated around a central axis that were cranked by hand.
  • Initially the Union Army was not interested in Gatling’s creation. However, General Benjamin Butler eventually purchased several Gatling guns for one of his final campaigns.
  • In 1865, Gatling created an enhanced model, and it was adopted by the Army.
  • The weapon was produced by the Colt Company at Hartford, Connecticut from 1870.
  • When hand-cranked the Gatling gun could fire 1,200 rounds per minute. Later models with an electric motor connected could fire 3,000 rounds per minute.
  • Significant sales were made abroad. Like the British Navy, the British, French, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, and Japanese armies were equipped with Gatling guns.
  • Gatling’s weapon was used all over the world and stayed in the U.S. military arsenal until 1911 when the U.S. Army declared it obsolete.
  • Gatling stayed active in other fields of invention. He worked on a new technique of casting cannons, constructed a motorized plow, and invented a new steel and aluminum alloy.

GATLING’S LEGACY AFTER DEATH

  • The inventor of the most efficient mass killing machine of his time lived to the age of 84 and died in his bed in 1903. By this time, the automatic machine gun had arrived on the scene.
  • The legacy of Richard Gatling did not die with him. The General Electric Company unveiled its 6-barrel aerial cannon called the Vulcan in September, 1956.
  • His design greatly aided the subsequent development of weapons that would help defeat dreaded enemies in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Richard Gatling Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Richard Gatling across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Richard Gatling worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Richard Jordan Gatling who was an American inventor and entrepreneur. The outbreak of the Civil War spurred Gatling to produce the greatest invention of his career, the Gatling gun. It revolutionized war.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Richard Gatling Facts
  • Tell Me the Story…
  • Fact or Fiction
  • Up, Up, and Write Away
  • Dear Mr. Gatling
  • Gatling Your Way
  • Jumble Rumble
  • Gatling’s Influence
  • Point It Out
  • All Year Round
  • Pick Me, Pick Me

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Link will appear as Richard Gatling Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 23, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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